PG A.M.: State House runoff added to presidential primary ballot in Augusta
The race for the Republican presidential nomination may be over by the time Georgia’s March 12 primary arrives. But there will be another closely watched race the same day.
Former Columbia County Commissioner Gary Richardson will square off against conservative social media influencer C.J. Pearson in a runoff for an open state House seat. The two were the top vote getters in a special election held Tuesday.
The runoff pits Gov. Brian Kemp and other allies backing Richardson’s campaign against Pearson, a 21-year-old who filed a lawsuit challenging the 2020 election results and who ran the doomed campaign of a former Democrat who tried to oust Kemp from office. The winner succeeds Rep. Barry Fleming, who resigned his seat to accept a judicial appointment from Kemp.
Kemp’s political machine bombarded voters in the Augusta-based House district with ads targeting “Pacific Coast Pearson,” helping Richardson notch 38% of the vote in Tuesday’s special election. Pearson came in second in the five-way race with 31%. Since no candidate notched a majority of the vote, a runoff is required.
The head-to-head matchup isn’t exactly a proxy battle over Donald Trump since both Republicans are firm supporters of the former president.
But it could test the limits of Pearson’s far-right brand against Richardson’s more conventional conservative approach. And it will help gauge the strength of Kemp’s political network.
Already, we’re hearing other Kemp allies are lining up behind Richardson’s bid. Among them is Cole Muzio’s conservative Frontline Policy Council, which is expected to oppose Pearson’s campaign.
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SENATE RACE. Tuesday’s other special election battle was captured by former state Rep. Tim Bearden, who won the west Georgia state Senate district formerly held by Republican Mike Dugan.
Bearden, a former House member, beat three opponents in the race to succeed Dugan, who resigned to run for the congressional district held by retiring U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson.
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BORDER PUSH. Gov. Brian Kemp announced plans Tuesday to deploy 15 to 20 Georgia National Guard troops to the U.S. border with Mexico to curb illegal crossings, wading deeper into a political battle over immigration.
At a Capitol news conference, he was flanked by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, House Speaker Jon Burns and dozens of other GOP elected officials who endorsed his plan to aid Texas in its battle with President Joe Biden over border security.
“The simple fact of the matter is that the massive increase in illegal immigration we have seen in this country is not a red state or a blue state issue,” said Burns. “It’s an every state issue, and that includes right here in Georgia.”
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KEMP CURTAIN CALL. The governor got a semi-standing ovation later Tuesday night when he was a special guest at opening night of the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival in Sandy Springs.
Kemp was introduced as a “true friend of the Jewish community and a champion of Georgia’s thriving film and television industry.”
Addressing the sold-out theater at the Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center at City Springs, Kemp discussed his work with state Reps. John Carson and Esther Panitch, the only Jewish member of the General Assembly, to add antisemitism to the state’s hate crimes statute. Carson is a Marietta Republican while Panitch is a Democrat from Sandy Springs.
“I’m proud to say that we have taken action to reaffirm my belief that this hate has no place in Georgia,” Kemp said.
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MAYORKAS IMPEACHED. On a second attempt and with a key lawmaker back on the floor, the U.S. House voted Tuesday night to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
The Georgia delegation remained split along party lines on the issue: all 9 Republicans were in favor and all five Democrats opposed. The deciding vote was Majority Leader Steve Scalise, the Louisiana Republican who missed last week’s vote because he was undergoing cancer treatment.
After last week’s embarrassing defeat of the impeachment resolution, Republicans were quick to celebrate the successful do-over. Chief among them was Georgia U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Rome Republican who sponsored the bill and for months has pushed for the floor votes.
Greene will now serve as one of the impeachment managers as the matter moves onto the Senate. But there are already rumors that the Democratic-controlled chamber might be looking for a political maneuver that could kill the resolution before it gets to the trial stage.
Greene told reporters Tuesday that would be a mistake.
“My message to the Senate is they should look at the polling,” she said. “And they know that our border security is the No. 1 issue in every single campaign, and every single state, every single city and every single community. Whether it’s New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, whether it’s California or any other state in the country, it’s the fact that millions and millions of migrants have been brought illegally into our country and the American people are being forced to pay for them.”
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FOREIGN SURVEILLANCE. The U.S. House is set to begin reviewing reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The law allows the federal government to spy on noncitizens located outside the United States.
Critics of Section 702 have long complained that this warrantless surveillance can often intercept conversations or contacts with U.S. citizens, resulting in a breach of privacy.
On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde stood alongside members of the House Freedom Caucus to advocate for adding language to the proposal to require a warrant anytime the government wants to use the section of law.
“For years, the surveillance state has dangerously weaponized Section 702 of FISA as a vehicle to illegally spy on Americans,” said Clyde, R-Athens. “That’s you. That’s me. That’s all our constituents. It’s time for Congress to take a stand against this egregious unconstitutional abuse by ending the warrantless mass surveillance of the American people. And that’s exactly what we’re fighting for this week.”
This portion of law was enacted after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to improve monitoring of foreign terrorists, but there have been allegations of misuse and abuse. The language was set to expire on Dec. 31 but was temporarily extended to April 19 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act that passed late last year.
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WORTH WATCHING. Among the state lawmaker panels meeting at the Georgia Capitol today will be the Senate Public Safety Committee’s subcommittee on the Fulton County Jail.
The panel was created as senators scrutinized Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ pace of prosecutions as she pursued felony charges against former President Donald Trump, along with the ongoing health and safety crisis at the Rice Street facility and its affiliates.
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UNDER THE GOLD DOME:
- The House and Senate are out of session Wednesday for a committee work day. Legislative Day 21 gavels in on Thursday.
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OUT OF THE HOPPER:
- The state Senate Education Committee passed Senate Bill 88, a measure sponsored by Sen. Carden Summers, R-Cordele, to regulate how gender issues are discussed in schools. The AJC’s Maya T. Prabhu reports the bill would require that parents at private schools opt-in before students attend classes “addressing issues of gender identity, queer theory, gender ideology, or gender transition.”
- The full Senate passed SB 340, a bill from state Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick, R-Marietta, to waive sales taxes on gun safe storage and other gun safety equipment. Prabhu reports the measure passed 46-1, with only state Sen. Colton Moore, R-Trenton, opposed.
- Gov. Brian Kemp signed SB 333, a measure to allow Gwinnett voters to decide whether or not to create the City of Mulberry. The question will go to a referendum, likely on May primary ballots.
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LISTEN UP. State Sen. Jason Anavitarte, R-Dallas, joined the “Politically Georgia” radio show Tuesday to discuss his bill to give a sales tax holiday on guns, along with state Republicans’ official condemnation of President Joe Biden’s handling of the U.S.-Mexico border. Later, AJC editor Shannon McCaffrey called in to talk about high-stakes court hearings on Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
And listen later today when dynamic duo Brian Robinson and Theron Johnson join the show to discuss the busy week in Georgia politics.
Listen at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. And listen to Wednesday’s show live at 10 a.m. on WABE 90.1 FM, at AJC.com and at WABE.org.
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden meets at the White House with Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
- The House has a series of floor votes scheduled.
- Georgia Public Service Commissioner Tricia Pridemore testifies at a hearing of a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on electric grid reliability and affordability.
- The Senate is in recess until Feb. 26.
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STUDENT DRIVER. The Chatham County Board of Elections headquarters in Savannah has become a simmering spot since the 2020 election with protesters demonstrating in front of the building and election deniers frequenting the board’s monthly meetings.
So when a car crashed through the front of the offices earlier this month, rumors spread that the acrimony had turned violent. Those assumptions proved false as the real culprit was a teenage driver who was practicing for her driving test in the parking lot, which the Elections Board shares with the local office of the Georgia Department of Drivers Services.
No one was hurt in the accident and repairs to the office are underway.
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DOG OF THE DAY. Attention baseball fans: Braves pitchers and catchers are reporting for duty today. So what better way to mark the occasion — and Valentine’s Day — than by meeting Fenway Wolf?
This handsome flower bearer is more of a trash collector who keeps his corner of Buford, Georgia beautiful by picking up candy wrappers, bottle caps and cigarette butts on his morning walks.
Fenway calls lifelong Red Sox fan and loyal Politically Georgia subscriber Linda Wolf his person. And while she roots for the Sox, Linda also works for the Braves. So for once in baseball, everybody wins. Play ball, Fenway! You’re our Dog of the Day.
Send us your dogs of any political persuasion and location, and cats on a cat-by-cat basis, to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, or DM us at @MurphyAJC.
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AS ALWAYS, Politically Georgia readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com, and adam.vanbrimmer@ajc.com.
About the Authors
Greg Bluestein is the Atlanta Journal Constitution's chief political reporter. He is also an author, TV analyst and co-host of the Politically Georgia podcast.
Tia Mitchell is the AJC’s Washington Bureau Chief and a co-host of the "Politically Georgia" podcast. She writes about Georgia’s congressional delegation, campaigns, elections and the impact that decisions made in D.C. have on residents of the Peach State.
Patricia Murphy is the AJC's senior political columnist. She was previously a nationally syndicated columnist for CQ Roll Call, national political reporter for the Daily Beast and Politics Daily, and wrote for The Washington Post and Garden & Gun. She graduated from Vanderbilt and holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.
Adam Van Brimmer is a journalist who covers politics and Coastal Georgia news for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
